Alex Neil admitted Paul Gallagher had caught Joe Allen with his elbow – but insisted it was not deliberate.

The Preston North End manager suggested former Stoke forward Gallagher had put his arm out to protect himself as he caught Allen late and on the nose after half an hour of yesterday’s 2-2 draw.

And he turned the table to point the finger at Allen and Ryan Shawcross as North End brace themselves for Gallagher to be hit by retrospective punishment. The FA is expected to review the incident after referee Andrew Madley suggested his view had been obstructed.

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“What they’ll probably say is that there was malice but knowing Paul there’s nothing like that.

“People will have a look at it and they’ll make their own decision. I can’t affect it.

“But I know my player and I know we’re not a dirty team. We try to play by the rules of the game. Sometimes you get caught.

“But what about (Ryan) Shawcross? He commits about five fouls against Louis Moult when he comes on the pitch, Joe Allen goes into two late tackles after that incident, what goes around comes around.”

THE PUNDITS’ VIEW: GALLAGHER SHOULD HAVE SEEN RED

Liam Rosenior, watching for Sky Sports, said: “You expect the referee to do his job there and it’s a straight red. I don’t think there’s any discussion about it.

“I’m looking at the referee’s position and he should be able to see it. The question is whether he’s followed the ball.

“The question is whether he’s followed the ball. It’s so late, the ball is 10 or 12 yards away by the time of the actual challenge. It’s a straight red – but Paul Gallagher goes on to have a huge effect on the game.”

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Former Preston striker Kevin Davies said: “The referee is in great position. Paul knew exactly what he was doing. I like Paul a lot, but think he should have gone.”

Former Stoke defender Danny Higginbotham said: “It was a sending off, 100 per cent, no doubt about it. We do hear it quite a lot, that someone is not that type of player. But it’s a poor challenge and it doesn’t matter whether it’s something a player would do on a regular basis.”

Former Stoke favourite Paul Gallagher scored against his old club for Preston. (Image: Getty)

GARY ROWETT’S VIEW: IT LOOKED LIKE A BLATANT ELBOW

“It looked to me like a blatant elbow on Joe Allen. I’ve seen it again, it looks to me like he waited for the challenge and caught Joe on the bridge of the nose.

“It is what it is but it’s for the officials to see it and the fact that four of them didn’t see that, it’s very, very poor.

“The referee said he didn’t see it but my argument is that all four of you haven’t seen it, that’s pretty poor.